Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief Shehbaz Sharif will likely be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. The combined opposition comprising PML-N, PPP and other smaller parties has already named PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif as a joint candidate.
The 70-year-old Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is leading the opposition’s face to become the country’s next Prime Minister after Imran Khan-led government was dismissed in a no-confidence vote in parliament following weeks of political turmoil.
Shehbaz Sharif had led the united opposition’s fight against Imran Khan’s PTI-led government, which was dismissed on Sunday after failing to prove its majority on the floor of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif, who has served as the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, has good ties with the Pakistan Army, unlike his brother Nawaz Sharif.
It is important to note that Shehbaz Sharif was imprisoned after a military coup in Pakistan in 1999. He later escaped to Saudi Arabia, only to return to the country in 2007. Shehbaz entered the national scene when he became the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party after Nawaz Sharif was found guilty in 2017 of corruption and money laundering charges.
New govt will not take any revenge against political opponents, claims PM-elect Shehbaz Sharif
Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif addressed the Pakistani citizens to claim that the country has emerged from a serious crisis after the ouster of Imran Khan.
“The country and the House of Parliament was finally freed from a serious crisis last night. Congratulations to the Pakistani nation on a new dawn,” Sharif said.
Sharif has also promised that there would be no revenge against political opponents under the new government. However, he added that the law would take its own course, indicating legal action against the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“We will not take revenge on anyone, we will not do injustice to anyone, and we will not put anyone in jail, the law will take its own path,” Sharif added.
Pakistan’s National Assembly is expected to reconvene on Monday, April 11, to elect the new Prime Minister.
Imran Khan removed as Prime Minister
In a midnight drama in Pakistan, Imran Khan was ousted as the country’s Prime Minister after losing the no-confidence motion in Pakistan’s National Assembly. Imran Khan joins the long list of Pakistani Prime Ministers who have failed to complete their entire tenure as per the official Pakistani constitution.
The joint opposition won the trust vote with the support of 174 members in the 342-member lower house, two more votes than the needed strength of 172 to remove the prime minister. Imran Khan was under fire for alleged economic mismanagement as his government battled depleting foreign exchange reserves and double-digit inflation.